10 places to visit in California in 2019

An aerial view takes in the Point Sur State Marine Reserve and Big Sur.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press 2006

For more stories like this, check out The Chronicle’s weekly Travel newsletter! Sign up here.

The numbers don’t lie: California’s top tourist attractions are bursting at the seams with visitors. This year, 5 million people will flock to Yosemite, 10 million visitors — that’s 27,000 a day — will ogle the Golden Gate Bridge, and a staggering 18 million souls will part with their hard-earned dough to crowd Disneyland’s 85 acres.

But California is a big place, and for those of us looking for a little respite from the crowds and chaos, there is an assortment of options — you just have to know where to look. For example, it doesn’t take much effort to pass up one of the country’s most popular national parks for a national monument that attracts a 50th the number of visitors or to fall in love with a small town that boasts all the charm of your favorite weekend getaway without the hordes of stay-cationers.

Here we’ve compiled our top spots for world-weary Californians to visit in 2019. No “hidden gem” is truly under the radar in this age of ubiquitous internet, but these are destinations that are evolving in unique ways. Some are disappearing; others are just beginning to blossom. Either way, now is a good time to explore.

1. Etna

Etna is not a place you typically find yourself in by accident. You’ve got to make the 300-mile trek up Highway 5 to the Oregon border, then veer west toward the Klamath National Forest to find this quaint little town. But historic Etna (population: 737), a pastoral outcrop in Siskiyou County’s mountainous Scott Valley, is worth seeking out.

A fried chicken sandwich with homemade slaw, cilantro, and pickles is prepared with a side of union rings at Dotty's Korner Kitchen in Etna.

Photo: Sarahbeth Maney / Special to The Chronicle 2018

Aside from the stark beauty of the state’s far north and the rural pace of life you can’t find in the Bay Area, Etna is a surprise food capital of California’s true north. For lunch, you’re going to want the Burger from Dotty’s Korner Kitchen — it’s made with grass-fed beef born and bred on a farm 2 miles away and served on a bun baked by a bakery run by the town’s mayor. Dinner should probably be at Denny Bar Co., a craft distillery and restaurant run out of a historic building that once housed a shop that sold materials to miners in the 1880s.

In between eating, there are swimming holes to explore on the Scott River and trails to tackle in the massively underrated Trinity Alps.

2. Mojave Trails National Monument

As New Year’s Eve 2018 approached, the spokesman for Joshua Tree National Park had some surprising advice for would-be visitors: Maybe don’t stop by.

“When it is every bit as crowded as the Santa Monica Freeway at rush hour, that kind of takes away from the whole wilderness park experience,” park spokesman George Land told a local paper, noting that lines to enter the park were a mile long.

A desert iguana is seen at Mojave Trails National Monument.

Photo: David Lamfrom / National Parks Conservation Association

Fortunately, the Mojave Desert is a vast expanse, and Joshua trees flourish across much of the region. For folks seeking desert solace without the crowds, the Obama administration created the Mojave Trails National Monument in 2016, protecting 1.6 million acres of federal land. The park features the pristine Cadiz sand dunes, the almost-ghost-town of Amboy, and veritable fields of cactuses and Joshua trees — all without the traffic or Venice Beach bros ruining your solitude.

3. Encinitas

No one is saying we shouldn’t be concerned about climate change. The repercussions from our wanton burning of fossil fuels are being felt in Houston and Florida and around the world.

But last summer, as water temperatures in Southern California shattered records, it was almost possible to look on the bright side of the end of the world. The beach towns north of San Diego — which generally experience glorious weather and moderate water temperatures to begin with — experienced 45 “trunkable days” from July to mid-August, according to the surf forecasting site Surfline. Any day with water temperatures above 70 degrees, the Surfline figured, was warm enough for surfers to spend hours in the breakers without wetsuits.

Encinitas, a charming beach community 25 miles north of San Diego, is perfectly designed for a sandy weekend. The surf and snorkeling are excellent near Cardiff Reef, beach camping can’t be beat at San Elijo State Beach, and the town has enough amenities to keep land lovers happy, from St. Archer Brewing Co.’s tap house to the San Diego Botanical Gardens.

4. Mono Lake

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact age of a lake. But Mono, a sprawling inland sea just east of Yosemite, is one of the oldest in North America. Its 70 square miles of water have occupied this spot for somewhere between 760,000 and 3 million years.

A hike along Mono is a unique one. For millennia, the lake, which has no outlet, has been collecting minerals, which formed craggy limestone towers underwater. After the city of Los Angeles tapped the lake’s water sources in the ’40s, the water level dipped and these strange tufa stalagmites now dot the lake. It’s well worth a quick walk or a long day hike.

But despite its longevity, Mono Lake’s future may be in jeopardy.

Mono is uniquely threatened by drought and climate change, says Alex Hall, director of the Center for Climate Science at UCLA. Despite efforts to wean ourselves off its source waters and increase its water levels, the lake is suffering. Dust storms are blowing off the newly uncovered sandy banks, and a land bridge to an island favored by nesting gulls has exposed the birds to threats from local predators. The city of Los Angeles is required to keep the water level in the lake steady, Hall says, but climate change will likely make this difficult.

“Go see this place now,” Hall says, “because it’s the poster child for how you manage a natural resource in vexing, changing times.”

6. Big Sur

In May 2017, 75 acres of earth slid down the Santa Lucia range, swallowing a stretch of Highway 1 and cutting off much of Big Sur from the rest of the world. In the 14 months of limited access that followed, businesses and hotels suffered mightily, says Mike Dawson, a former editor at Wine Enthusiast who now helps local brands boost tourism in the region.

But after what seemed like a lifetime, Highway 1 reopened last summer, and Big Sur — the stretch of eye-wateringly beautiful coastline between San Simeon and Carmel — is now open for business.

McWay Falls is one of many scenic spots along Highway 1 near Big Sur.

Photo: Drew Kelly / New York Times

And good news, Dawson says: “Winter is the best time to come. It’s warmer than San Francisco — you can still go to the beach.” Plus, beleaguered tourist-dependent businesses are offering deals on lodging and other accommodations.

Take a trek down 1, stopping for hikes in Big Sur or lunch the Big Sur Road House, then make your way to San Simeon to soak up the sleepy Central Coast beach vibe with a night at the Cavalier Inn overlooking the Pacific.

6. Mammoth

It can be hard for a Northern Californian to admit, but Mammoth Lakes features some of the best skiing in the state. While Tahoe may have significantly more runs and more options for après-ski, Mammoth is home to exciting uncharted backcountry runs that titillate even the most advanced skiers.

“Mammoth and June Lake is really the best backcountry skiing in California,” says Dave Miller, owner and guide at International Alpine Guides in June Lake. “Tahoe is good — I grew up in Tahoe, I love Tahoe — but we have much higher mountains, much better terrain down here. It’s alpine up here — we’re talking 12,000, 13,000 feet. Tahoe can’t really compete. And our snow is a little drier because we’re eastern Sierras and higher elevation.”

Snow falls at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort in Mammoth Lakes.

Photo: Andrew Miller / Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort

If you’re an advanced skier but new to off-piste, the Hole in the Wall line beckons — an unmarked, just-out-of-bounds trail in Mammoth that will take you through a stunning lava tube that cuts through the ridge. But if you’d like to really get into the backcountry, outfits like Miller’s International Alpine Guides or Sierra Mountain Guides are happy to take you to out of bounds. (Regardless of your experience, experts recommend never going alone.) A day with Miller, who is an internationally certified guide, will include safety lessons in the morning, then a full day of skinning up remote slopes and incredible, soul-affirming trips back down.

But last year the bureau’s board, which promotes tourism in the region, decided to add cannabis companies to their marketing pitch — sort of. The board voted that they would promote the region’s marijuana tourism draws, but keep the pitches removed from ongoing campaigns promoting the area’s traditional trees-and-solitude vibe. It’s a tack they called — no joke — “separate but equal.”

Pot tourism, clearly, is still a foreign concept, but despite the tourism board’s equivocating, Eureka is one of the best places on Earth to visit for a weekend of legal pot sampling, argues Matt Kurth, the founder of Humboldt Cannabis Tours. The town is the biggest city in the so-called Emerald Triangle, the largest cannabis-producing region in the country, a wooded expanse that covers Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties.

For a day exploring the local delicacy, Kurth takes his visitors for breakfast at Café Phoenix and then on a visit to a working cannabis farm or two. “We talk to the managers, we spend a lot of time talking to the farmers and interacting with the plant,” Kurth says. “I want to help people to see this. You can touch the plant, smell ’em, get your hands in the dirt looking for roots. My mission is to help people interact with the plant and the people who produce it.”

Lunch, included on the tour, is a sampling of local foods and local bud in a redwood grove. After the day out, Kurth recommends dinner at Brick and Fire Bistro, where everything is cooked over an open flame, then heading out to the Finnish Country Sauna and Tubs in nearby Arcata for an outdoor soak in redwood hot tubs. “You can smoke there,” Kurth says, “or they have ashtrays, at least, so I can assume you can smoke.”

At the end of the day, head south of town to Riverbed Pharms — a quaint bud and breakfast.

Lava Beds National Monument was created over the last half million years by a series of eruptions from the Medicine Lake Volcano, a 22-mile-wide low-lying volcano north of Shasta. The result is more than 700 caves, pit craters, spatter cones and miles of lava tubes — hollowed-out caves where magma once flowed.

The monument was also site of one of the most intense battles of California’s Indian wars, and part of the park is named for Modoc chief Captain Jack’s last stronghold.

The combination of surreal landscape and dramatic history — the only U.S. general to die during the Indian wars met his end here — have led locals like Elizabeth Norton to argue for the national monument’s elevations to national park status. Norton says the monument — “mostly bare, rugged lava land, desolate and absolutely beautiful,” in her words — is worth at least three days. She recommends the easy climb up the Schonchin Butte, part of the volcanic superstructure, for great views; a stop by the former Japanese internment camp in Newell; miles of easy road cycling; compelling birding near Tule Lake; and great service and an even better breakfast at Fe’s B&B in Tulelake.

9. Culver City

When Roberta’s, Brooklyn’s much-feted, uber-popular pizzeria, decided to open a branch out west, Food and Wine magazine ran with this headline: “Roberta’s Has Arrived in L.A., You Lucky Bastards.” But Roberta’s, which is famed for its char-specked pies and high-end sides, didn’t opt to open in the traditional L.A. hot spots of Silver Lake, Venice Beach or Atwater Village: It chose Culver City, of all places.

To the surprise of those who don’t spend their time navigating the 405, Culver City has become a top destination in greater Los Angeles for food, drink and shopping. A middle-class town that drivers missed on their way to somewhere else until about a decade ago, Culver also recently saw the opening of Platform, a futuristic, uncomfortably hip shopping center filled with boutiques and good eats. In addition to Roberta’s, Platform is home to Loqui, the beloved Mexican pop-up that used to operate out of Tartine’s spare space in the Mission District, a Blue Bottle, a Boba Guys, and excellent rooftop dining at Margot.

For shopping, you can pick up a hat by Janessa Leone, a milliner favored by celebrities and Instagram influencers alike, or fancy beachwear from Lemlem. End your day at Hayden, a new all-day restaurant and wine bar with plenty of outdoor seating and just the right L.A. vibe — or, if you’re all hipstered out, drive a couple blocks over to the second branch of Father’s Office for a beer and one of the best burgers in the Southland.

10. DoCo, Sacramento

Yes, it’s the state capital. So why haven’t you gone for a visit?

After years of derision from their snobby coastal neighbors to the west, Sacramento is coming into its own. A town that once was synonymous with “stodgy” is now, in the improbable words of New York magazine, a capital of “California Cool.”

The epicenter of that hipness may well be the newly revitalized Downtown Commons, a stretch of town near the new Golden 1 Center arena that already has its own hipster moniker: DoCo.

The Kimpton Sawyer Sacramento hotel is part of the Downtown Commons (DoCo) complex that includes the new Golden 1 Center arena.

Photo: Spud Hilton / The Chronicle

For years the site of an aging two-level shopping center, the area surrounding K Street and Fifth is now home to the Sacramento Kings, as well as a bevy of well-reviewed restaurants, crowded bars and boho boutiques. Kari Miskit, vice president of communications for Visit Sacramento, says the Commons is a part of town that longtime residents finally see as living up to its potential.

“For those of us who had been around a long time,” Miskit says, “we’d been saying, ‘Hey, that bank building is so cool’ or ‘That lot would be perfect for the new stadium.’ And look what’s happened.”

An ideal day in the hood might include a lunch at the newly opened Bank, a Ferry Building-esque food hall set in one of the West’s oldest banks; dinner at Camden Spit and Larder from Oliver Ridgeway, one of the city’s favorite chefs; a show or game at the Golden 1 Center; and a nightcap at Fizz, the local Champagne bar. Book a night at the nearby Kimpton Sawyer, an achingly cool hotel that opened in 2017, and you’ve got yourself an ideal city break.